Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) Shares Up 0.4% – Still a Buy?

Shares of Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) rose 0.4% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $72.80 and last traded at $71.33. Approximately 5,630,292 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 76% from the average daily volume of 23,208,767 shares. The stock had previously closed at $71.02.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Micron Technology from $145.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 21st. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Micron Technology from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Micron Technology from $130.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Bank of America downgraded Micron Technology from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $125.00 to $110.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein cut their target price on Micron Technology from $140.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $129.36.

Micron Technology Stock Up 0.3 %

The stock has a market cap of $79.58 billion, a PE ratio of 20.52 and a beta of 1.18. The business has a fifty day moving average of $90.21 and a 200-day moving average of $96.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 2.72 and a quick ratio of 1.75.

Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $8.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.93 billion. Micron Technology had a net margin of 13.34% and a return on equity of 8.32%. The company’s revenue was up 38.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.42 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Micron Technology, Inc. will post 6.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Micron Technology Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.115 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.46 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.65%. Micron Technology’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Mary Pat Mccarthy sold 2,404 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.93, for a total value of $223,403.72. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 27,358 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,542,378.94. This trade represents a 8.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP April S. Arnzen sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.18, for a total value of $1,442,700.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 164,769 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,847,482.42. This trade represents a 8.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Micron Technology

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MU. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Micron Technology during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Beacon Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Micron Technology by 114.9% during the fourth quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 374 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Micron Technology during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Activest Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Micron Technology by 583.3% in the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 410 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 350 shares during the period. Finally, Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA purchased a new position in Micron Technology during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.84% of the company’s stock.

About Micron Technology

Micron Technology, Inc designs, develops, manufactures, and sells memory and storage products worldwide. The company operates through four segments: Compute and Networking Business Unit, Mobile Business Unit, Embedded Business Unit, and Storage Business Unit. It provides memory and storage technologies comprising dynamic random access memory semiconductor devices with low latency that provide high-speed data retrieval; non-volatile and re-writeable semiconductor storage devices; and non-volatile re-writable semiconductor memory devices that provide fast read speeds under the Micron and Crucial brands, as well as through private labels.